The WD My Passport Pro 4 TB Portable External Hard Drive is the solution to all your backup problems. It’s one of those purchases that you can buy without a single doubt and one which will not disappoint you.
It has dual-drive storage that provides to you with a speed of up to 233 MB/s. This is quite an impressive speed and better than the majority of hard drives out there.
Moreover, it’s extremely convenient to use as it doesn’t require any sort of adapter such as an AC cable. This is because it comes with a Thunderbolt cable that is integrated within it. This may not sound like a big deal, but it frees you of the hassle of an AC adapter and that’s commendable.
Also, in addition to all of this, it comes enclosed in an aluminum casing which makes sure that it is protected and makes it enduring enough to withstand minor accidents.
The most worth mentioning feature here is its huge capacity to store, that is, up to 4 TB. This is massive and purchasing it would be a wise decision since you would have all your data stored in one place.
For people who love being organized and are bothered with data scattered in multiple places, this is the perfect tool for them.
However, the same feature puts some people off since it is not available in any other size. This might be a little disappointing for people who do not have a large storage use and want a small hard drive.
The storage for the WD Passport Pro comes in two forms: RAID and JBOD. The user is allowed to select from them and pick a storage form that suits them.
What’s more is that it comes with a 3-year warranty. Hence, if anything goes wrong, you have a total of 3 years to get it fixed absolutely free of cost! That’s a lot of time for a warranty, as most warranties for electronic items last 1 year or so.
Lastly, its Thunderbolt port is a lot more reliable for a lot of users, especially those who are fans of Macs and trust them to be a good brand.
WD My Passport Pro 4 TB Design
The WD My Passport Pro’s design is one of a kind because of how innovative it is. It’s on a completely different tangent compared to the rest of the hard drives and has received quite a lot of appreciation because of its appealing build.
The casing it is enclosed in is black and silver – silver from the sides and bottom and black from the top.
However, it isn’t very sleek. This might be a point of concern for a large number of people who like carrying slim and sleek hard drives around. It’s quite bulky and this quality is owed to the 15 mm drives that it uses.
Usually, 9.5 mm drives are used such as those in the Seagate Backup Plus, which prevents it from getting as thick as the My Passport Pro.
This was about the 4 TB hard drive; the 2TB hard drive, on the other hand, is slimmer as it uses 9.5 mm drives to provide a 2 TB RAID capacity.
Another advantage of the WD My Passport Pro is that it can be configured to either JBOD or RAID1. Having the option to connect it to any storage space makes it much more versatile. Its connectivity is also better as compared to the Seagate 3.0 with the Thunderbolt connectivity, and that is why it works better with creative workflows.
You also have a little fun at one of the corners. This has been added by its manufacturers as an added option for times of need. It is basically a measure of precaution and won’t turn on all the time, thus annoying the users.
The Thunderbolt port does not support daisy-chaining. However, this is hardly a problem at all because most users do not prefer daisy chaining in the first place. They want devices that are bus-powered and this should fulfill their wants. It is also recommended for sites that are far off and remote. Consequently, it is suitable for fieldwork.
Performance
The WD My Passport Pro was connected with the Thunderbolt interface to a Mac. The Blackmagic Disk Speed Test was used and a 5 GB file was used to test. The Mac was the latest gen MacBook Air.
The read speed was found to be 203.9 MB/s when tested for the RAID0 configuration, and the writing speed was 196.1 MB/s.
This was compared to the G-Tech, which gave only 125.5 MB/s read speed and 124.1 MB/s write speed. The Buffalo MiniStation was also tested in order to compare the speeds of the three drives, and it was found out that it posted a speed of only 115.1 MB/s on both read and write tests.
This led to the conclusion that since the WD My Passport Pro has two drives instead of one such as in the case of the G-Tech and the Buffalo MiniStation, it gives a better speed.
103.4 MB/s read and 97.9 MB/s write speeds were also measured for the RAID1 configuration. For the same test, the G-Tech gave a result of 125.5 MB/s read speed and 124.1 MB/s write speed.
When the My Passport Pro was put through the AJA test and tested with RAID0 and RAID1 configurations, the results were exceptional. The read and write speeds for the RAID0 configuration went as high as 205 MB/s and 205.1 MB/s respectively. In the RAID1 test, a read speed of 100.7 MB/s and a write speed of 102.7 MB/s were recorded.
Pros
Let us start with its pros. To begin with, it does a fairly decent job in terms of its performance. It will never put you in the unnecessary trouble of running around for repairs or other such chores. It is guaranteed to last you a long time while causing you zero trouble in terms of performance and maintenance.
Moreover, it is bus powered. Lastly, and most importantly, its software is extremely easy to use. It’s manufactured in such a way that its interface is easy and user-friendly. This, of course, gives it a great edge over other hard drives.
Cons
The WD My Passport Pro is not without its cons, though. While it performs well and satisfies the user in terms of speed and memory, its design is slightly dissatisfying.
It’s bulky and displeasing to the eyes, almost to the point that a user could get put off by it. Secondly, it doesn’t support daisy chaining so that could be a problem for people who’d want that option.
Conclusion
The WD My Passport Pro is a viable option if you do not care a lot about aesthetics and are more into quality. It’s bulky and offers a long warranty. It’d be a wise decision to purchase it, especially if you’re a MacBook user.
As far as the pricing is concerned, it is at the same level as similar hard drive options for a Mac.
